International Stability: What Ghanians are Thinking, 2006 (ICPSR 4548)

This survey, conducted February 2 to May 2, 2006, was used
to gather public opinion data in Ghana on issues such as the global
threat of terrorism, the United States foreign policy, and questions
pertaining to the Middle East and Africa. Respondents were asked to
give their opinion on which two countries they thought were the
greatest threats to international stability. Many questions focused on
the Unites States' involvement in the war on terrorism. Those surveyed
were also queried on whether they thought if they agreed that United
States' troops should be brought in to reduce ethnic violence in
Africa and the Middle East if attempts were unsuccessful by the United
Nations. They were also asked to state if they thought the United
States should fight terrorism even if no other country supported
them. The issue of the United States' use of torture centers in
foreign countries as part of its strategy on terrorism was also
asked. Respondents were queried if they thought that the United
States' involvement in Iraq has left it better or worse and if the
overthrow of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was worth it. Some
questions dealt with Islam and its relationship to modernity and
democracy. Respondents were asked if they thought George W. Bush's
administration had a policy of democratizing the region of the Muslim
world and whether the democratization of that region of the Muslim
world will increase or decrease violent aggression against western
interests. Demographic variables included sex, age, marital status,
nationality, religion, education level, employment status, and
political ideology.

This survey, conducted February 2 to May 2, 2006, was used
to gather public opinion data in Ghana on issues such as the global
threat of terrorism, the United States foreign policy, and questions
pertaining to the Middle East and Africa. Respondents were asked to
give their opinion on which two countries they thought were the
greatest threats to international stability. Many questions focused on
the Unites States' involvement in the war on terrorism. Those surveyed
were also queried on whether they thought if they agreed that United
States' troops should be brought in to reduce ethnic violence in
Africa and the Middle East if attempts were unsuccessful by the United
Nations. They were also asked to state if they thought the United
States should fight terrorism even if no other country supported
them. The issue of the United States' use of torture centers in
foreign countries as part of its strategy on terrorism was also
asked. Respondents were queried if they thought that the United
States' involvement in Iraq has left it better or worse and if the
overthrow of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was worth it. Some
questions dealt with Islam and its relationship to modernity and
democracy. Respondents were asked if they thought George W. Bush's
administration had a policy of democratizing the region of the Muslim
world and whether the democratization of that region of the Muslim
world will increase or decrease violent aggression against western
interests. Demographic variables included sex, age, marital status,
nationality, religion, education level, employment status, and
political ideology.

Study Description

Citation

Sharif, Idris. International Stability: What Ghanians are Thinking, 2006. ICPSR04548-v1. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2007-03-30. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR04548.v1

Universe:
Persons aged 18 and over in the Upper West, Greater Accra
and Cape coast regions of Ghana.

Data Type(s):
survey data

Methodology

Sample:
The nonprobability purposive sampling strategy was used
for this study. Attempts to conduct a random/probability sampling
technique in Ghana were difficult because of the dilemma of obtaining
a complete sampling list of the population, whereby everyone in the
population would have an equal or known chance of being included in
the sample. Given this sampling limitation, the study used purposive
sampling, allowing the researcher to use his or her judgment when
selecting cases that were both difficult and informative regarding the
specific content under investigation.

Mode of Data Collection:
self-enumerated questionnaire

Response Rates:
93 percent

Extent of Processing: ICPSR data undergo a confidentiality review and are altered when necessary to limit the risk of
disclosure. ICPSR also routinely creates ready-to-go data files along with setups in the major
statistical software formats as well as standard codebooks to accompany the data. In addition to
these procedures, ICPSR performed the following processing steps for this data collection: